PREP VOLLEYBALL ROUNDUP : Oilers Beat Marina, Clinch Title

After testing their coach’s patience all season, the Huntington Beach High School volleyball players clinched the Sunset League title Tuesday night in fitting fashion.

The Oilers took their time.

Matt Taylor had 42 kills as the Oilers, top-ranked in Orange County, rallied for a 10-15, 9-15, 15-10, 15-12, 15-10 victory over sixth-ranked Marina.

Huntington Beach (15-1, 11-0 in league) clinched its second league title in the last three years. And it was the second time this season the Oilers rallied from a two-game deficit to beat the Vikings.

Marina (10-5, 7-4) appeared capable of pulling off an upset this time. After winning the first two games, the Vikings held a 7-3 lead in the third game.

That’s when Oiler Coach Rocky Ciarelli began substituting. He pulled starters Jeff Vanderwal, Adam Bowermaster and Ian Adam.

“I took a few guys out because I wanted to shake things up a little,” Ciarelli said. “I wanted to show them that I was crazy enough to do something like that.”

His players got the idea.

Bowermaster returned to the lineup and had six kills, and Taylor added six kills and an ace as the Oilers went on an 11-3 run.

Adam, the Oilers’ setter, returned and played well, and Vanderwal, a middle blocker, added five kills and a block. Bowermaster finished with 20 kills and Andy Kijewski had 19.

“I don’t know where Bowermaster was during the first two games,” Ciarelli said, “but I’m glad he showed up later on.”

Taylor took over in the fourth game with 10 kills, two aces and a block. He had three kills that keyed Huntington Beach’s 6-3 streak that ended the game.

Taylor also dominated the fifth game. He had 12 kills and an ace as Huntington Beach built leads of 9-4 and 13-8.

Marina Coach John Burns said the Vikings’ normally tough blocking couldn’t stop Taylor in the final two games.

“We had a little problem blocking him out of the back row,” Burns said. “He’s a great player and we just have to do the best we can.”

Dennis Winners had 28 kills and John Mull added 20 for Marina. Phoung Vu had 16 kills, Brant Shelor 12 and Scott Anderson 10 for the Vikings.

In the Angelus League:

St. John Bosco 3, Mater Dei 2--Todd Prochnow had 23 kills for St. John Bosco (13-3, 7-3), which won, 15-11, 5-15, 7-15, 15-4, 15-4.

Santa Margarita 3, Servite 0--Neil Sullivan had eight kills and eight aces for visiting Santa Margarita (8-6, 6-4), which won, 15-4, 15-4, 15-7.

In the Garden Grove League:

La Quinta 3, Santiago 0--Brad Huss had 15 kills, Chris Siok had 10 kills and Phong Lu had 45 assists as host La Quinta (8-6, 7-6) won, 15-7, 15-9, 15-13.

Pacifica 3, Bolsa Grande 0--Matt Howze had seven kills for host Pacifica (10-6, 9-4), which won, 15-10, 15-9, 15-9.

In the Sea View League:

Newport Harbor 3, Tustin 0--Frank Griffo had 11 kills and seven blocks for host Newport Harbor (12-3, 8-1), which won, 15-2, 15-8, 15-5.

University 3, Corona del Mar 1--Zolti Csanyi had 27 kills and 22 assists for visiting University (9-6, 5-4), which won, 15-12, 15-6, 15-17, 15-12.

In the Empire League:

Esperanza 3, Cypress 0--Ryan Delaney had 11 kills and six aces for host Esperanza (15-0, 7-0), which won, 15-1, 15-4, 15-3.

Foothill 3, El Dorado 1--Nick Kramer had 40 assists and five aces for host Foothill (10-6, 6-1), which won, 15-7, 15-8, 6-15, 15-10.

In the South Coast League:

Irvine 3, Capistrano Valley 2--Christian Norris had 19 kills and Brian Trout had 16 kills and 11 blocks for host Irvine (10-5, 5-4), which became the first team to defeat No. 2 Capistrano Valley (14-1, 8-1) this season. After winning the first game, 16-14, Irvine lost 12-15 and 13-15 before winning the final two games, 15-8, 15-9.

In nonleague play:

Santa Ana Calvary Chapel 3, La Mirada 1--Mike Hernandez had three aces and 20 assists for visiting Calvary Chapel (13-2), which won, 15-12, 12-15, 15-3, 15-7.